Okay, caught up. (And you guys are too awesome. I very much didn't deserve special treatment like that, but at the end of the game I agree that a GM time-smite would have been unsatisfying for everyone. Let me jump right in.) Apologies in advance for a wall of text; at least I used paragraphs and bullet lists. And there's some juicy speculation in here, promise.
I am very, very surprised. ICount, you are running one of the most exciting games of Werewolf I've played on a forum, and that's saying something. I've been having a blast, and this recent wrinkle is evidence that you really thought these roles and their interactions through. So muchas kudos.
Anyways: I can think of only three possible explanations for what's happened---and the most likely one, to me at least, is going to throw everything into chaos. But before I drop that speculative bombshell, let's review the evidence.
First, I can explain how GPuzzle died: I targeted him on Night 3 with my Drunkard's Mimic ability, copying his power to night-kill. On Night 4, I used it on him, killing him with his own power. Those in the Villager Bloc will be able to confirm that (I described my plan twice, at posts 4 and 8, and the results were as expected).
With Jess revealed as the Survivor, this leaves our current "best intelligence" regarding surviving players and teams as:
TEAM VILLAGER:
- dgdas9 - Villager
- Eunomiac - Drunkard
- Staxed - Villager
- the_j485 - Villager
- Jess887cp - Survivor (I'm assuming this is a villager role?)
TEAM WOLF:
You've already stated the obvious problem: There are only five remaining players, all of whom have been cleared---whether by their actions, or by VikeStep, the (
indisputable) Fortune Teller:
- Staxed - Villager - cleared by VikeStep
- Jess887cp - Survivor - proven by his survival of a lynching
- dgdas9 - Villager - quoted his role and elements of conversations (in private convo, which is not against the rules).
- Eunomiac - Drunkard - contrary to what some have been saying, I have not been cleared by the Fortune Teller. However, I think my role has been proven just about as well as a role can be: I described it very early to both the_j485 and VikeStep, and then had two opportunities to copy and use roles as per claimed Drunkard's power. Both times, I stated in advance what I was doing, and the results confirmed what I said (GPuzzle's death being the clearest example).
- the_j485 - Villager - indirectly confirmed by VikeStep, when I copied his power and used it on the_j485 and saw a "green aura"
So. Theories.
First, the tamest and most superficially-appealing one... which I don't particularly like:
dgdas9 is a Werewolf, and faked his proof. No. There is no way. It is impossible to ignore the grammatical similarities between ICountFrom0's actual (in-thread) posts, and the quoted material given my dgdas9 (which was not in violation of the rules---and I don't mean to wiggle through a technicality here, ICount; the express singling-out of "... to this thread" does seem to imply quoting messages is okay elsewhere). Combined with the volume of material dgdas9 quoted (pretty much an entire conversation, which he'd have had to write from scratch, while mimicking ICount's style and specific conversational fingerprints throughout---e.g. "where" vs. "were"), I consider this all but impossible. I will not vote to lynch dgdas9.
Second, a slightly more speculative one, which I still don't like:
Jess887cp is a Survivor-Werewolf. Nothing in his "near-death" message suggested he was on the villager team, and his role has not been updated in the OP. He could very well be a Survivor role stapled onto a werewolf. The problem with this? Three werewolves is already a lot for this game, I feel. To then add "invincible to first lynching attempt AND the ability to 'prove' villager loyalty" on top of one of them would, I think, be a little too much to give the Werewolf team, considering we didn't even get a Bodyguard/Doctor or any sort of defense beyond a Hunter.
And finally, the bombshell. This is the only theory I think makes sense. (Please, if you have another theory, do tell!)
VikeStep was a False Seer. The False Seer is unreliable (and doesn't know this). In some games, they always get the opposite read on players. In others, they see everyone as "Villager". In other games, it's a flip of the coin. We know it can't be the first option, because VikeStep identified two players as villagers (Staxed and, through me, the_j485). I doubt Staxed and the_j485 are both wolves, because that would make for a four-person wolf team---no. We also know it can't be the second option, because VikeStep identified both villagers (Staxed) and werewolves (goreae).
So I suspect it's the third option: VikeStep's ability to detect werewolves was inconsistent from the start.
This means we have to take another look at the players he cleared:
- Staxed
- the_j485 (through me, as I'd have copied an "inconsistent seer" ability)
I am certain that at
leastone of those is a villager, because as I said before, "four-person werewolf team? no." The other, however, is my current favorite for "most likely to be our werewolf." From conversations in this thread and reviewing actions, I'm going to make a soft landing on...
the_j485
The reason I checked him in the first place was because I suspected some of his actions, such as his haste to "confirm" my "citizen/villager" logic as proving he was a villager (when it didn't), and the speed at which he jumped on the lynching bandwagon on several occasions---and Staxed will be able to verify this; I said as much in our first convo. And, if I copied an inconsistent seer ability (or even if the
Drunkard has a hidden weakness, in that
my use of others' abilities is inconsistent---I just now considered that), then my clearing the_j485 is not something that can be relied upon.
That being said, it's soft, because there's a good case for "Werewolf-Staxed", too.
Put yourself in his position: He gets a PM from the damn
Fortune Teller saying "you've been cleared, and you're the only person I trust!" Around the same time, I'm sending him much the same message. He has us in his pocket, and can play the helpful villager while directing the flow of the game from a position of virtual immunity.
The problem is... from all I can tell, Staxed has directed the flow of the game in the villager's favor. I can't see a single suspicious act from him: Unlike the_j485, Staxed was never quick to leap on the lynching bandwagon, nor has he said or done anything even remotely inconsistent. He questioned me appropriately, not to sow suspicion; he tempered people's doubts instead of inflaming them, etc. On top of that, he's been a frequent poster: Someone in such a delicate position of deceit, keeping one's enemies closest and so forth, would lean towards more silence, I'd think.
Based on the conviction I have that
dgdas9 is NOT a Werewolf...
I vote to lynch the_j485.
(If you're a villager, I am truly sorry that I've allowed myself to be so expertly played by whoever the wolf in our clothing really is.)